


comfort food

by peroxideprncss



Series: atla random prompts [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cooking, Established Relationship, F/M, Married Couple, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26534548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peroxideprncss/pseuds/peroxideprncss
Summary: prompt: mai making zuko his favorite meal when he’s having a hard day
Relationships: Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: atla random prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932052
Comments: 6
Kudos: 88





	comfort food

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this on the mobile version of google docs and posted it via the mobile site, so please excuse any weird formatting that may come from that

* * *

Mai heaved a sigh as she stared at the doors to the throne room. Sealed shut, just as they had been since the sun rose this morning. Now, twilight was beginning to fall, and by the look on the guards’ faces, they wouldn’t be leaving their post anytime soon. This was confirmed when one of them met Mai’s eyes and offered her a sympathetic glance. 

“Still no word on when the meeting will adjourn, my Lady,” he said. Mai simply sighed again, then nodded in acknowledgment. She decided that standing in front of the door was no longer useful, and turned on her heel. She didn’t pay too much attention to where she was going as she swept through the corridors, and the servants and staff milling about paid her little more mind than a courteous bow as she passed. Mai only realized where she was headed when she stepped over the threshold to the kitchens and the chef gave her a startled greeting. 

“My Lady,” the chef bowed, hurriedly wiping her hands on her apron before straightening her shoulders, “How can we help you?”

“You’ve been working hard lately,” Mai said plainly, eyeing the flour-covered surface the chef was working on, “Take the rest of the evening off.”

“My Lady?” the chef repeated herself, politely taken aback.

“After cooking for a crowd all week, you deserve it,” Mai replied nonchalantly, “I can handle dinner for the Fire Lord tonight.”

The chef paused, still unsure that she was hearing correctly. Mai gave her an encouraging nod, and after a beat, the chef bowed once in return. She called to her staff and they offered greetings to Mai as they all passed by her on their way through the doors. 

Mai sighed again as she surveyed the now empty kitchen. She lifted the corner of a towel to reveal a plump mound of dough, likely set aside to rise for tomorrow morning’s batch of sweet buns. Mai replaced the towel before scanning the rest of the area. A bundle of green onions, waiting upon a cutting board to be chopped. Mai drew a knife from her own sleeve, wiping it down once before slicing through the stems effortlessly. Once the vegetable was reduced to thin slices, Mai made her way to the stovetop, where a pot of water was already boiling above a glowing flame. She lowered the flame a little before adding in a hefty scoop of rice from the bag balancing against the wall to her left. She stirred it once, then stepped away.

Mai walked across the room and stepped through the door that would lead her to where the butcher prepares the meat. He had already left for the day long before her arrival, leaving Mai to survey the items that hung from the ceiling. She let her eyes fall over everything once, before settling on a modest-sized duck. She plucked it from its hook and brought it back into the kitchen. 

With it already having been prepared for cooking, all Mai had to do was lower it gently into the pot. She methodically peeled and sliced a few pieces of ginger, adding them to the mix as the water calmed down to a simmer.

Mai let out a sigh of accomplishment once everything was cooking, but her hands still felt like doing something. She rummaged through the spices before finding fresh peppercorns, opting to grind them herself. The repetitive movement of the mortar and pestle helped to calm her mind, and she let herself get lost in the soft sounds of the spice breaking down while the pot bubbled quietly next to her. 

The pepper was practically a powder before Mai thought to stop herself. She let out a frustrated breath through her nose, then shrugged before sprinkling it into the pot. She stirred the mix carefully, noting how the liquid was beginning to thicken. She added a generous pinch of salt before leaving it once again. 

Mai then busied herself with cleaning her knives. First, just the ones she had used to prepare the food, but then she decided she might as well clean all of them while she was at it. By the time her weapons were shining like new, the duck was ready to be removed from the pot. Mai grabbed a pair of chopsticks, using them to gingerly lift the bird out and onto the counter. As it cooled, she dipped a spoon into the pot to taste its contents. Satisfied with the flavor, Mai gave herself a proud smirk before continuing on.

After the meat had cooled for a few minutes, Mai began to break it apart, shredding it into smaller chunks and setting the bones aside. She then turned off the flame under the pot before adding the shredded duck back in and stirring everything together one final time. 

After finding a pair of bowls, Mai slowly ladled the porridge into each, careful to ensure the portions were equal. She then garnished them with the green onions she had sliced earlier. Once she placed the bowls onto a tray, she prepared a pot of jasmine tea, setting aside two cups on the tray as it steeped. 

When everything was ready, Mai carefully lifted the tray and carried it slowly out of the kitchen. It was dark outside now, and she hoped that Zuko had been released from the throne room. Her answer came when she approached his office and saw a guard outside the closed door. 

“My Lady,” he greeted Mai with a bow before stepping aside to open the door for her. She thanked him as she crossed the threshold. 

“Dinner, my Lord,” she called into the dark room, and a haggard-looking Zuko waved in acknowledgement without turning to face her.

“You can set it there,” he said dismissively, “Please send Lady Mai my apologies that I couldn’t join her this evening.” Zuko clearly hadn’t realized that Mai was the one who’d entered the room. 

“Apology _not_ accepted,” Mai replied, setting the tray where Zuko had indicated before placing her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

“Mai,” Zuko sighed, both out of relief and guilt, “I’m sorry, I -”

“Stop talking,” Mai said, setting aside the scroll he was pouring over in favor of the tray of food, “Just eat.” She accented this statement with a tender kiss to his temple before sitting beside him. She poured them each a cup of tea and took a small sip as she waited for him to take a bite. 

“Duck jook?” he asked, sounding a bit surprised. Mai nodded in both agreement and encouragement as he lifted his spoon to his lips. 

“Mmm,” Zuko hummed as he chewed, closing his eyes and savoring the flavors. He took a few more bites before speaking again.

“Remind me to give the chef my compliments,” he muttered contentedly between mouthfuls. 

“She humbly accepts,” Mai said with a smirk before digging into her own bowl. 

“You made this?” Zuko asked, once again with mild shock coloring his voice. Mai had cooked for him many times before, but lately she didn’t have as much time to wander into the kitchen as she would’ve liked. 

“If we weren’t already married, I’d propose to you right now,” he joked, failing to hide the sincerity behind the statement. He planted a kiss to her cheek, leaving behind a tiny smudge of grease which he promptly wiped away with the pad of his thumb.

“I thought you could use some comfort after a long day,” Mai said quietly, smiling to herself as she took another bite.

“Thank you,” Zuko replied just as softly, “This is exactly what I needed. Although, I do feel a bit guilty. Shouldn’t I be the one taking care of you right now?” He wrapped an arm around her waist, resting his fingertips on the side of her slightly swollen stomach. Mai shrugged as she placed her hand on top of Zuko’s and laced their fingers together. 

“We take care of each other,” she stated simply, “Now, finish your dinner.” Zuko smiled at her, pressing his lips to hers for a tender moment before turning back to his meal.

**Author's Note:**

> prompt from [otp prompt generator](%E2%80%9C)  
> reference recipe from [chowhound](%E2%80%9C)


End file.
